Firelight
by Veni Vidi Vichi
Summary: Charlie awakes in the middle of the night and discovers things about a man she's trying to banish from her mind.


Hey everybody! So I've kind of fallen for Revolution, mostly because I have a hole in my chest where Terra Nova used to be. So I decided I'd try my hand at writing a little fanfiction about it.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Revolution. . . if I did, "Nate" would have a lot more screen time.

Charlie woke with a scream in the back of her throat and a hand covering her mouth. Her eyes wildly sought out Miles and Nora, both of whom were sleeping by the fire. It took her a moment to realize that she was supposed to be keeping watch, having begged Miles for the opportunity. And what does she do but fall asleep, allowing whoever was attacking her to sneak up on them. She made a move to elbow them, but they grabbed it before it connected.

"Stop fighting me Charlie and be quiet or you'll wake your uncle."

The voice, unheard for days now, took a moment to register in Charlie's mind. Once it did she stopped struggling and the hand over her mouth removed itself.

"I have nothing to say to you _Nate_," Charlie hissed, her eyes staying focused on the fire.

"Well I have something important to say to you."

He released her and stepped away, giving Charlie the opportunity to swing around and see him clearly. He was dirtier than the last time they'd spoken, but then again, so was she. She didn't get to study him for long, barely catching a glimpse of the bandage around the arm she had handcuffed, before he turned and began to walk away. Charlie bristled at his belief that she would follow him like a lost puppy, but curiosity had her following him away from the fire, with one last glance back to make sure her companions were still asleep.

"Well, what do you want to tell me?"

There was nothing inviting about the way Charlie said it, and her arms were crossed in displeasure. Nate was cool and calm, like he always seemed to be, whether he was mocking her or in a fight for his life. It was doing nothing to endear him to her.

"Don't you want to know how I escaped your little death trap?"

"It wasn't a death trap!" Charlie protested loudly. "I knew you'd be able to get out of it."

"I might have starved to death, or died of thirst, or been found by bandits."

He listed the ways he might have died carelessly, more like he was teasing her than being serious.

"If you don't have anything important to say, I'm leaving."

Nate takes hold of her arm, spinning her around so she was facing him once again before lowering his arm. She glared at the offending hand pointedly.

"You can't take the south road tomorrow."

"And why is that?"

He hesitates here, and the look that flashes over his face reminds Charlie of the first few days she knew him, when he was just Nate, the guy who wanted to join a fishing boat.

"The Niska gang has set up shop there."

"Shouldn't the _Militia_ be doing something about that? And what's the big deal? We'll just sneak by them. If Miles were worried about them, we wouldn't be passing by."

He didn't respond to the acidic tone in her voice, but he did respond to her question.

"We should be. But something's wrong. Monroe isn't following his own rules anymore. These men are the scum of the earth, and we're just collecting taxes from them. And your uncle won't know who they are; they came around after his time."

"Listen Nate, I'm not worried," Charlie's voice was cocky on purpose. She refused to become some trembling mess at his words. There was a reason she spelled her name Charlie and not Charlea. She refused to be a damsel locked away in some tower somewhere. "We've made it through worse."

"You haven't seen what they do to their women Charlie. They'll take away the women who catch their eye and bring them to Niska. He'll 'inspect' them all night, then let his two top men each have a night with her. Then he'll decide if he'll keep them or not. The lucky ones don't live through the first night. I'm not letting that happen to you Charlie, I'm not."

By the end of his little speech, she began to understand just how much the idea angered him. His face had twisted into something almost recognizable, and gone was the cool tone he usually spoke with. His hands were clenched into tight fists, and it drew Charlie's attention back to the bandage on his wrist. She'd handcuffed him to a pole and he'd still come to warn her. But he had betrayed her, tricked her.

"Why are you doing this? Some kind of order to keep us safe?"

"I haven't been in contact with the Militia since Chicago. They think I dragged myself off somewhere and died. I've been following you of my own free will."

Charlie hesitated. She wanted so badly to say that she forgave him, but she'd trusted him once before and risked the lives of everyone she was traveling with and her brother's life as well.

"I'll come up with a reason for why we have to avoid the road," she finally said, turning and walking away from him. "And make sure you keep your wounds clean. Don't want to catch an infection all the way out here."

"I'll make sure to do that," he called after her, his dry voice firmly back in place.

When she walked back into the campsite Miles stirred,

"Charlie, that you? Where'd you go?"

"Just taking care of a little business," she responded. "But don't worry, I think it's all going to work out."

Obviously he didn't find it important, as he merely rolled over and grumbled,

"Go wake up Nora and go to sleep."

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And that would be a case of Charlie's over optimistic side rearing its head. But hey, it's a fluffy story, what do you expect? And sorry for any mistakes, or the rushed feel. I didn't have a beta and just wanted to jump back into publishing again. Hope you enjoyed! And points to those who get the Niska reference!


End file.
